Maoists register proposal demanding republic

Maoist lawmakers on Sunday registered a proposal at the parliament secretariat for an amendment in the interim constitution to declare the nation a republic immediately.

The proposal registered by Maoist chief whip Dina Nath Sharma states that declaring republic had become urgent in order to pave the way for unhindered constituent assembly election.

The Maoist party in its proposal has also demanded that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) be recognised as part of the national force and immediate steps be taken to integrate the PLA members into the Nepal Army to establish a new national army force.

The proposal further says the state should write off all the debts of the farmers and revolutionary land reform programme should begin.

Likewise, the Maoist party has also proposed that important decisions on issues related to nation's water and natural resources should be taken only after the election to constituent assembly.

Meanwhile, the Maoist central command today submitted 1 million signatures to Speaker Subash Nemwang demanding that the interim parliament declare the country a republic and announce the date for constituent assembly election immediately. nepalnews.com ia May 13 07